British mixed martial arts star Luke 'Bigslow' Barnatt will face-off against Sean Strickland in Berlin on 31 May with one goal - “to smash up” his opponent and set up a bout the winner of Francis Carmont and CB Dolloway.

The 26-year-old is focused on his goal and sees Strickland as an opponent that will move him up the ladder and towards a title shot.

Barnatt said: "Sean is not a very well-known guy, but he is 14-0. He was a champion over in the States on King of the Cage. He is a very talented kid.

"Sean and I are the future of the UFC and of the middleweight division.

"We are both young and looking to make an impression. That is my plan and I plan to make an impression on the rankings and start fighting some of the top guys."

Barnatt also has an unblemished record of 8-0-0 and 3-0-0 in the UFC, and last fought in London, scoring a first round TKO against Mats Nilsson at London’s O2 Arena.

The Brit told Mirror Fighting that he is in great shape and has just continued to progress after the win over Nilsson.

He said: "I asked for the quick turnaround, it was a swift win, my training camp was absolutely perfect before the London card, no injuries, no niggles.

"I came out of the fight feeling as good as I felt going in, so while I am young, healthy and fit I just want to get the fights out, because unfortunately in this game, you do get injured and I am sure I will at some point so I want to try and capitalise on being fit and healthy and fighting while I can."

Despite being relatively unknown, Barnatt has researched on his American opponent and admits that his unbeaten record was one of the reasons why he called him out.

He said: "He is a very talented fighter there is no doubt about it. You don’t get to 14-0 without having some skill.

"I don’t think he has ever fought anyone like me. I don’t think he has ever fought anyone as athletic as I am or the size that I am. He has been fighting weak-minded guys, and too be honest I think he is weak-minded.

"I don’t think he is here to do what I am here to do.

Barnatt feels that the 23-year-old was pushed into this fight after his first victory in the UFC over Bubba McDaniel in March.

"It doesn’t make any sense to me why an undefeated guy who is 1-0 in the UFC and from the States, who has just fought in Dallas has been forced to come over to Germany and fight a Brit who is on a three fight win streak in the UFC,” said Barnatt.

"I don’t think he wants to fight. He wants to take some time off.

"He won very impressively against Bubba McDaniel, put on a good statement and even said afterwards that he wanted to take some time off, relax and enjoy being a UFC fighter and up his game so that he can put on an impressive show.

"He has had something like seven weeks to do that, I definitely think he has been forced to take the fight.

"It is hard to turn the UFC down,” Barnatt added. "I asked for Sean Strickland because, that is a good fight for me, the guy is undefeated, I want him.

"I just think it is bad timing for Sean and good timing for me.

That is not to say Barnatt is taking his opponent lightly and agrees that he does pose a lot of problems.

"Every fight has problems," said Barnatt. "We will just have to wait until I punch him in the face and find out what problems he can cause."